July - 2018

Jul 30, 2018

NATE NAJAR, Under Paris Skies

Continuing on his freewheeling journey as a true musical citizen of the world, Nate Najar followed the release of his acclaimed 2016 album This is Nate Najar with performances everywhere from the Newport Jazz Festival on the Isle of Wight and Ronnie Scott’s in London to a week in Australia, including a stop at Bird’s Basement in Melbourne. Over the years, the Florida based jazz guitarist has enthralled audiences across the globe with his trademark acoustic classical guitar wi

LUCIA JACKSON, You and The Night and the Music

Jonathan Widran

Jul 28, 2018

LUCIA JACKSON, You and The Night and the Music

It’s worth noting that fans of well-established dancer/model and emerging jazz singer Lucia Jackson helped her raise some $15,000 towards her dream of recording her wonderfully engaging debut album, You and the Night and the Music. It’s even more beautiful to know that they not only got their money’s worth, but thanks to them, we fans of traditional vocal jazz have a captivating new singer to love and support ourselves. Truth be told, Lucia has the sweetly effortless jazz mag

Jonathan Widran

Jul 28, 2018

RACHEL CASWELL, We're All In The Dance

Honestly, I didn’t think anyone besides Ella Fitzgerald would inspire me to dream of an album featuring only scat and no actual lyrics. Yet veteran jazz singer Rachel Caswell’s ability to convey an expansive range of emotions via her colorful, swinging scatability on her new album We’re All In The Dance has me once again pondering the viability of such an endeavor once again. Remarkably, that’s only one of the hypnotic heart harpoons the singer has in her storytelling arsenal

Jonathan Widran

Jul 28, 2018

ALLEN AUSTIN-BISHOP, No One Is Alone

The cover of No One Is Alone, Allen Austin-Bishop’s warmly inviting, deeply soulful new album, is curious and quirky. With juxtaposed gray and orange striping, he offers cartoon imagery of people going up and down elevators. Maybe they’re all off to hear the New Jersey bred, longtime London based R&B influenced jazz crooner – and he will indeed touch their hearts with graceful, lushly produced interpretations of beloved songs from many eras, on many different emotional and sp

Jonathan Widran

Jul 28, 2018

REBECCA ANGEL, What We Had

On her soulfully produced and gorgeously arranged debut EP What We Had, emerging NYC singer/songwriter Rebecca Angel makes every emotionally compelling track an invitation – to dream, to love, to reminisce wistfully about beautiful times gone by which infuse every waking thought of today. With each swaying breeze of her distinctive voice, whether she’s singing romantic lyrics or sharing her artful sense of vocalese, Rebecca – who has performed numerous times at hotspots like

Jonathan Widran

Jul 27, 2018

ROB MORROW BAND at Bogie's

Whether it’s Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, Zooey Deschanel, Jack Black or Kevin Bacon, there’s always a healthy skepticism surrounding popular actors who gig and record original music. Fans of their films and series will show up and cheer regardless, but they must still show genuine passion, talent and performance chops to be and stay legit. When you see them perform, the question is, could they succeed- and would you listen – even if they weren’t famous for their other career?

Jonathan Widran

Jul 26, 2018

AJ JANSEN, Bourbon & Roses

Five releases into her extraordinary career, New England based indie singer-songwriter AJ Jansen gives us a bold, brash and crazy-infectious reminder on “This Ain’t Dixie” that she may not be a native Southerner a la Carrie, Miranda, Maren and Kelsea - but she’s still making rockin’, soul stirring rock-edged country with the best of them. On that bold centerpiece of her powerhouse new EP Bourbon & Roses, the multi-talented performer – a two time Connecticut Country Music Asso

THE SOUTH FLORIDA JAZZ ORCHESTRA Presents the Music of Gary Lindsay

Jonathan Widran

Jul 23, 2018

THE SOUTH FLORIDA JAZZ ORCHESTRA Presents the Music of Gary Lindsay

You may not know the names Gary Lindsay (Grammy nominated arranger) or Chuck Bergeron (world class bassist), but in conjunction with The South Florida Jazz Orchestra, they’re a formidable Miami sound machine on par with the one made famous by Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Lindsay’s crisp, dynamic big band charts have been performed by everyone from Maynard Ferguson to the Florida Philharmonic. This ambitious eight track, 69 minute whirlwind through the art of swing marks the fir

MARK WINKLER/CHERYL BENTYNE, Eastern Standard Time

Jonathan Widran

Jul 23, 2018

MARK WINKLER/CHERYL BENTYNE, Eastern Standard Time

OK, seriously now, does music get any more quirky-fun hipster than two of America’s greatest jazz treasures, Mark Winkler and Cheryl Bentyne, intertwining their dashing, urbane vocal magic to explore the cool divine madness of Lou Reed’s daring “Walk on the Wild Side”? Somewhere Andy Warhol is snapping his fingers, diggin’ this and the other fresh discoveries on the delightful duo’s new collection Eastern Standard Time. It’s a deeply intimate and soulful, thoughtfully rendere

Jonathan Widran

Jul 22, 2018

LOUISE GOFFIN at McCabe's Guitar Shop

The daughter of legendary songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Goffin has exquisitely carried on their legacy while establishing herself as a formidable, multi-talented singer-songwriter in her own right over the past few decades. She spent much of the between song time during her bravura 90 minute set talking joyfully about her songwriting, workshops she has participated in, and her many collaborators. Her lifelong dedication to the craft shone through on a diverse set

Jonathan Widran

Jul 20, 2018

SAMUEL MARTINELLI, Crossing Paths

It’s only been four years since Brazilian born drummer and percussionist Samuel Martinelli started jazz vibing with the top cats on the NYC scene, but the incredible buzz around his dazzling array of polyrhythmic and compositional talents netted him the best of the best for his stunningly diverse, groove engaging debut album Crossing Paths. Creating the perfect urban exotica fusion of straight ahead and Brazilian jazz, Martinelli and his cohorts – Claudio Roditi (trumpet, flu

SEAL, CORINNE BAILEY RAE at the Hollywood Bowl

Jonathan Widran

Jul 20, 2018

SEAL, CORINNE BAILEY RAE at the Hollywood Bowl

Just a few years ago, scheduling 90’s pop, rock and soul hit maker Seal on the slate of Wednesday jazz-oriented nights at the Hollywood Bowl might have seemed like a stretch – and even provoked the shrill scoffing sirens of the purist jazz police. His “in” to the jazzy part of the summer schedule is his exquisitely rendered 2017 Rat-Pace era themed album Standards, which the four time Grammy winning artist called “the album I always wanted to make.” The official concert listi

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THE JW VIBE

Music That Sticks To My Soul

NATE NAJAR, Under Paris Skies

LUCIA JACKSON, You and The Night and the Music

RACHEL CASWELL, We're All In The Dance

ALLEN AUSTIN-BISHOP, No One Is Alone

REBECCA ANGEL, What We Had

ROB MORROW BAND at Bogie's

AJ JANSEN, Bourbon & Roses

THE SOUTH FLORIDA JAZZ ORCHESTRA Presents the Music of Gary Lindsay

MARK WINKLER/CHERYL BENTYNE, Eastern Standard Time

LOUISE GOFFIN at McCabe's Guitar Shop

SAMUEL MARTINELLI, Crossing Paths

SEAL, CORINNE BAILEY RAE at the Hollywood Bowl